Draw My Heart
by lxkirby
Summary: Blaine Anderson, sophomore at Jackson Middleton High, loves to draw and his passion is making art. He shuts himself from the whole world only to talk to his two bestfriends. He's pretty comfortable with his life... until Sam Evans, the new assistant coach comes in and basically brings Blaine out of his little comfortable shell and into the world, and maybe even his heart. Blam
1. Rough Sketch 1: Not Going So Well

"So that is how we get the cube root of-" Mrs. Murray was starting to explain to us before the bell rang loudly cutting her short from her lesson.

She started saying some stuff about doing an exercise on our textbooks but half the class wasn't paying attention anymore since most of them were packing up their stuff with their attention already elsewhere. I myself put my notebook back in my bag before waiting a bit as my other classmates exited the room.

When there were only several people left, a few talking to Mrs. Murray about the homework we submitted this morning, and a few who were still sleeping unfazed by the bell ring, I got out as well, slinging my shoulder bag over to the side as I exited into the halls of Jackson Middleton High.

The murmurs of conversations filtered the air, as the students intermingled with one another filling the halls with their chatters. Falling into step with the crowd, I headed for my locker to switch up my books for the next period.

While I was stashing my Algebra book away, the metal door of my locker came closing shut. I almost jumped from where I stood as a tall figure stood in front of me.

"Hey Blaine" He grinned at me.

"Jeez man… you didn't have to do that." I said frowning slightly as I fake punched him on the shoulder. Ryder just kept his grin plastered on his face, his expression basically radiating off excitement. "What?" I asked curious as to what was up.

Ryder was one of my best friends. He was really tall and athletically built. He had chestnut brown, old school Justin Bieber hair and was also a sophomore like me. He had this goofy personality where he liked making people around him laugh and what not and honestly he was a good hearted kid.

"So my folks are going out of town this weekend…" he began, excitedly bouncing in his place.

"Umm… so I'm guessing th-" I started to say.

"YES! The sleepover is on YEAH!" Ryder almost yelled cutting me halfway and making me flinch at the same time. He was a little too loud, causing other heads to turn and look at us. It made me a little uncomfortable as they gave us weird looks and realizing what he did, Ryder bit his lower lip flushing a little. "The sleepover is on…" he repeated in a whisper this time.

"Sweet" I said.

"What is?" a playful voice asked as a girl with chocolate brown hair walked up to us.

"Oh, Hey Marley" I greeted her with a smile.

"H-hi Marley…" Ryder stuttered, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey guys" she said, joining in our conversation. "What's so sweet Blaine?"

Marley was my other best friend, also a sophomore. She was the eyes and ears of the school and basically if you wanted some info on anyone, she was the person to go to; she apparently knew everyone in school. She wasn't the gossip type though and another thing is that Ryder secretly crushed on her but she didn't know which was weird since it was pretty damn obvious.

"Ask Ryder" I said.

"What's so sweet Ryder?" she turned to him. Ryder opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out and I chuckled at him. Marley raised her eyebrows in confusion, thinking she had missed an inside joke.

"I-I just invited Blaine t-to my place for the weekend." He managed to finally say.

"Oh... you guys still have sleepovers? Seriously?" she asked holding back her laughter.

"W-what?" Ryder frowned.

"Well I don't know… maybe because my brother stopped having sleepovers a year ago when he got into High school? You two are both sixteen an-"

"Seventeen" I corrected.

"Seventeen…" she emphasized "and are still having pajama parties?" she giggled. I just rolled my eyes at her comment.

"Yea, call it childish but our sleepovers are different from the sleepovers kids have. I mean we stay up all night playing video games, order pizza and we even watch some movies" Ryder grinned mischievously at the word movies.

"Wow… that must be fun huh?" she smiled sarcastically making Ryder's mood plummet into another frown.

"It is…" he mumbled softly.

"Mr. Lynn, shouldn't you be in class?" Mr. Jefferson, the Biology teacher, and also Ryder's next class called as he walked past the three of us. Seeing this, Ryder cussed and immediately said a quick goodbye before running after his teacher. I couldn't help but smile at the silly boy.

"So did you hear about the guy helping Coach Cooperman this semester?" Marley asked me sounding as excited as Ryder was earlier with the sleepover news. We started to walk down the halls while we conversed.

"No…" I said not really interested where this was going. Gym wasn't really one of my favorite classes.

"Sam Evans" she said the name with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Umm… I'm sorry but am I supposed to know who he is?" I arched an eyebrow questioningly.

"Oh my gosh, are you serious? He graduated last year! He was part of the football team Blaine…" she eyed me as she spoke waiting if maybe I'd remember the guy but my clueless expression must've told her otherwise. "Blonde hair? Really hot? Cute blue eyes? Seriously? Nothing?"

"Nope" I shook my head which she gave an exasperated sigh.

"How can you not remember him, I mean you're gay right?" she asked which I didn't really get why.

"What's that gotta do with remembering him?" I asked as she stopped walking.

"Well Sam Evans is one hell of a hottie I'm surprised you don't know him." Marley concluded before leaving me to go to her class. I was about to retort something back but the bell ringing again told me I had to be in class too. With a sigh of my own, I made my way to Spanish class.

It wasn't until lunch time before I saw Ryder and Marley again; the three of us shared a table like we usually did just to ourselves.

"Are you gonna finish that?" Ryder asked me as he had his eyes on my plate with my half-eaten casserole. Shrugging, I pushed my tray to him as an invitation while Marley just pursed her lips at this.

"Would it kill you to finish your food first before getting all artsy again?" she asked.

"You know you sound like my mom." I said pausing from working on the sketch I started on last night.

One thing about me was I loved drawing. I always had my sketchpad in my bag wherever I went. I guess you can say it was one of the ways I expressed myself since I wasn't much of a social person. An introvert you could say and through drawing I could put across how I felt. My mom said it was just a teenager angst thing, but for me drawing was my passion. If some people dreamed to be actors or doctors, I aspired to be an artist.

"Maybe because we're both right? You barely eat anything when you start drawing" she mused as to which I shrugged.

"Wha are you woking on wight now?" Ryder asked with a mouthful of food and tipped his head closer to me. Laying the pad flat, I showed him my current project, a sketch of a teenage guy who had headphones on chilling to his iPod while leaning against a wall.

"Wow." He muttered.

"Well I gotta admit that is something" Marley said as she looked at it herself, nodding in approval.

"Thanks…" I said with a smile.

"Why doesn't he have legs?" Ryder asked.

"Umm… is it maybe because I'm not done yet?" I chuckled.

"Well well, what do we have here?" a voice from behind me came. Turning around to the source, I find three dudes wearing letterman jackets with their food trays in hand. The guy who spoke smiled at us and I had a feeling he was the ring leader amongst the three. He had olive skin tone and short black hair, and a very fit body. I admit he was kinda good looking.

"Leave us alone Jake" Marley said and from her tone I could tell these people weren't friendly.

"What? I'm just admiring your friend's work here" he shrugged. "In fact, I feel like helping…"

With that said Jake took his milk carton and poured it over my sketchpad getting the drawing wet. My jaw dropped as I watched him ruin the drawing and all I could do was stare as the dairy drink drenched the whole thing. Jake snickered along with his other two friends before walking away just like that.

My heart sank as I eyed my drawing all soaked up, I mean, it wasn't just the drawing which was ruined, my entire pad milked. I sighed heavily feeling angry and frustrated at what just happened. As much as I wanted to get revenge on those low life people, I couldn't do anything. I felt powerless.

"THEY'RE SUCH ASSHOLES!" Ryder pounded his fist against the table before getting up in his seat. I grabbed him by the wrist to stop him once he almost bolted for that Jake dude.

"Don't…" I simply said to him.

"You can't just let them do that!" He argued, seeming more upset than I was.

"What are you gonna do? There's three of them and only one of you… just… it's okay… you don't need to beat them up for me… it's not worth the fight" I said. Ryder looked at me for a second before letting out a deep sigh.

"I hate that you let people bully you." Ryder said.

"I'm used to it…" I shrugged.

"People are just gonna push you around Blaine, step on you. You let everyone take advantage of you because you are so agai-" He argued.

"Ryder" Marley warned and I heard the 'stop' in her tone too. Sighing once more, Ryder shook his head before we all just continued with lunch, or whatever was left of it.

My gloomy mood continued for the rest of the day and I couldn't stop myself from thinking about what had upset me. It didn't help that I had gym today which was my least favorite class. I was on an unlucky strike, or so I thought. I soon found out that Coach Cooperman, the gym class teacher wasn't around and that meant I didn't have to attend his class right?

"You can't ditch!" Ryder told me once I was about to leave. We were in the locker room area and I was about to change into my PE uniform when I found out about Mr. Cooperman being MIA.

"Why not? Coach isn't around is he?" I argued packing up my stuff.

"Yea but there is gonna be someone else handling the class" Ryder said trying to stop me as I headed for the exit.

"Well I don't care, I've had a bad day and I just want to get home as soon as possible" I was surprised Ryder didn't stop me when I left the locker room but it was true, I just wanted to be in the comfort of my room and don't have to worry about anything else.

"Whoa hold up, where are you going?" a guy with lengthy blonde hair stopped me on my way.

"Uhh… home?" I said confused why this dude I didn't know held me up.

"Uhh …no you're not" he chuckled "Let me guess, you're Blaine right?" He said as he brushed his bangs off his face.

"Yea… why?" I asked narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well you still got gym class" he said matter of fact as he looked at the clipboard he was holding. I didn't know if he was a new faculty member or something but he was starting to piss me off.

"Yea but the teacher in charge isn't around…" I explained.

"Who says he isn't?" He said giving me a cheeky grin as he patted my shoulder before walking past me towards the gym. "If I were you I'd be there or else…"


	2. Rough Sketch 2: From Bad To Worse

It was really frustrating how things never go my way and right now it was just the same like every other time. As I got back inside the gym, I was welcomed by a wave of stares, each of them seemed to be judging or saying something unspoken which was unpleasant. It made me almost cringe how all eyes seemed to pierce through me as they stared at me hauntingly.

"Blaine, over here" a loud whisper came from one end and I turned to see it was Ryder. Managing my way over the line of students, I joined him and fell in line, positioning myself behind him.

"Alright' everybody here?" The blonde guy called as he tapped the clipboard he was holding with a pen repeatedly. No one really answered and I couldn't believe this guy's unprofessionalism. Clearly he had no structure to follow and I wouldn't be surprised if half the class didn't take him seriously; I sure didn't.

"Okay… so… uhh…" he started to say before he leaned in closer to one of my classmates in front and I heard him ask 'what does coach Cooperman usually do first?' making me roll my eyes.

"Why couldn't they have gotten a professional, like seriously this guy is a joke." I mumbled softly but loud enough for Ryder to hear.

"Hey come on give him a break." He replied.

"Okay! Let's start with attendance." Sam said and he soon started calling out the list on the clipboard he was holding. Name after name, he took each one down checking as each student said present for his or her name.

"Blaine Devon Ande- … oh" he paused, not finishing my last name as he scouted amongst the class before his eyes finally met mine. That moment we locked gazes with one another, his blue-ish green eyes seemed to have twinkled or something. His lips slowly formed one of those cheeky grins he just gave me in the hallway earlier and I'm sure it was only a brief second but it seemed longer than that before he continued on calling the rest of class.

"Alright that's every one. Now go get started on your warm ups" he ordered once attendance as done.

"Can you believe this guy?" I whispered to Ryder whilst we were stretching.

"What's wrong?" he frowned.

"I mean come on, he just graduated…" _barely I bet_. "and I'm pretty sure he has no clue on what he's doing" I added.

"Hey don't be like that. I think he's kinda cool…" he defended him.

"what makes you thi-" I was about to ask before I felt a force collide with my back making me almost stumble if I didn't catch my footing at the last second.

"Don't block my way faggot!" some guy from my class, who I barely know, hissed at me and I was guessing he was the reason I almost fell.

"Hey leave him alone!" Ryder instantly positioned himself protectively in front of me.

"Ooh if it isn't mcfaggot's side kick Mr. Justin square face Bieber. What you gonna do, stuff me in your ginarmous jaw?" the guy mocked and I could see Ryder's clenched fists tense up, readying to throw a punch. "Ryder don't" I pleaded putting my hand on his shoulder.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Sub Coach interjected, walking up to our little fiasco.

"These two jerks are bothering me while I quietly do my warm ups." the guy said making Ryder yell incredulously. "What the hell are you talking about?! This guy just pushed my friend over here for no damn reason!"

"You calling me a liar?" the guy argued.

"Enough! Both of you go run 5 laps around the gym" Sam said to Ryder and the other guy. "you" he looked at me. "10 laps"

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"You heard me. 10 laps Anderson"

"Bu- that's not fair!"

"You know what's not fair? You planning to ditch this class then creating a scene that disrupts your other classmates' gym time. Now go!" he blew into the whistle that hung around his neck and I had no choice but to follow his orders, no matter how unjust they were. I started to run at an easy pace behind Ryder and the other guy.

This Sam guy was really getting on my nerves and I hardly even know him. I mean it hasn't been a day yet and I already felt negative about him. Maybe I was being unfair to him, just because he was handling my least favorite class and yea maybe Ryder was right, maybe I did needed to give him a chance.

Watching him talk to the rest of the class while I ran around the gym, I gotta admit Marley was right. He was easy on the eyes and I would understand why other girls found him cute or hot. But honestly in my opinion, I've seen better looking.

Around my sixth lap, when the other two had finished already, my legs were starting to get a little sore. I wasn't really fond of running around and as I continued with my laps, exhaustion was slowly creeping on me making me go slower than my already sluggish pace. By the ninth lap, I resorted to just walking since my stamina didn't enable me to do more than that. Taking heavy and deep breaths, I exerted the last ounce of energy I could before crashing on my bum as I finished 10 freaking laps around our not so small gym.

"Alright, now that that's over, it's time to play some dodge ball." Sam announced as enthusiastic as ever. Panting heavily as I sat on the floor, I tried really hard to listen to what he was saying but I could barely grasp anything since I was still exhausted, catching my breath.

"Now split up into your teams." Sam called clapping his hands repeatedly as the class dispensed into two groups, creating some distance in between. Getting up on my feet, I just weakly waddled my way over to where Ryder was going whose team was on the right side of the gym.

"Whoa whoa buddy… your team is over there." Sam directed at me, pointing over to the other side of the class. I eyed Ryder who had mouthed 'sorry' while frowning before I slowly walked to my designated team.

"Now the rules are simple." Sam began explaining. "If you get hit, you're out and have to sit down. The team who takes out all the members of the other team wins, okay?"

I had a feeling… no, scratch that, I knew I would be one of the first ones out since I could barely run, how much more dodge getting hit by several rubber balls aimed at you. Both teams got their own basket of balls and everyone, except me grabbed one each awaiting the initiating signal.

"Everyone ready?" Sam asked shifting his eyes from the two opposing teams and when he saw that we or at least the other people were, He blew into his whistle and it wasn't long before balls were flying here and there.

Watching the chaos that was this dodge ball war, people got hit here and there like it was a warzone. I was too stunned to move so I wasn't throwing anything at anyone and it was a surprise why no one was literally trying to hit me. One by one, the numbers on each team depleted, even Ryder unfortunately soon got hit and was deemed out.

After some time, there were only three people left on my team while two on the other, one of which was the guy who pushed me earlier and once he saw me, an evil smile formed on his face. Immediately, he started grabbing ball after ball flinging them at me as fast as he could. I managed to dodge every single ammunition he threw at me and I didn't notice it but both my teammates got hit by the other guy who wasn't hitting me. So now it was two against one and I honestly believed I had no chance at this.

"GO BLAINE! YOU CAN DO THIS MAN! GO HIT EM'!" Ryder cheered at me from the side where the 'out' people were sitting. I tried and picked up a ball and flung it to the other side and surprisingly it brushed off the other guy's, not the jerk, shoulder just barely but still it hit him. It was down to me and the jerk.

"Crush that wimp Chris!"

"Yeah, you can handle that faggot!"

People cheered for the other guy who I was guessing was named Chris. He brushed the black strand of hair from his face before grabbing one more ball from the basket. I anticipated his next move but he just held the ball in a way like how you do a bowling ball before throwing it down an alley. He studied me for a second holding his sadistic smile before kissing the ball in hand.

"Games Over Anderson." He muttered before throwing the ball aimed lower than usual, like he just basically played bowling and I was a pin. It was too fast for me to dodge out of so I tried to jump but it hit me badly on the leg as I did, making me land horribly as my ankle twisted as I fell. The loud sound of the whistle was what I heard next as I lay there on the floor holding my leg closer to me.

"Alright, Chris' team wins." Sam announced and coincidentally the bell rang soon after. "Well will you look at that… class dismissed guys" he said like nobody's business. How unprofessional seriously? Everyone just went out the class but Ryder obviously came to my aid, walking over to me with a worried expression.

"You okay man?" he asked.

"Yea just go ahead, I'll catch up." I said with a weak smile. I lied to Ryder since I didn't wanna inconvenience him. He looked at me once before nodding and heading off on his way. I'm pretty sure the burning pain in my foot was caused by a bad landing and I winced as I tried to straighten my right foot. "Oww.. oww…" I whimpered.

After a while, I crawled over to the wall so I could get some support and carefully I tried to stand myself on my left foot first before cringing in pain as my right leg straightened. "Ahhh" I cried out in pain and I though everyone had left but apparently I was wrong.

"Whoa… you okay there?" Sam made his way over to me, his face a little worried. I glared at him as hard as I could cause if I just ditched gym like I intended this wouldn't have had happened to me.

"Do I look like I'm okay?" I asked injecting my words with venom clearly showing that I didn't wanna be around him. I slowly limped to the exit but he caught up with me, putting my arm around his shoulder.

"Here let me help." He said but I was so full of it right now. I managed to wiggle out of his hold and push him away keeping my glare at him.

"I don't need your help!" I hissed.

"You can't even walk straight." He argued, still calmly which annoyed me more.

"I don't care! Leave me alone!" I yelled at him and clearly he was surprised since his eyes widened as the volume of my voice increased.

"What is your problem?" he asked me and that just put me in the perfect position to tell him off.

"You." I said coldly before limping away with so much hate for this Sam Evans person.


	3. Rough Sketch 3: People Around Me

After the next couple of days found me and Marley in the mall doing some shopping since it was a Friday. She was walking around the clothes department trying on stuff but with no real intention of buying anything which was a drag since we kept walking around the place which was like me dragging a ball n' chain since my sprained ankle was slowing us down.

"Come on hurry it up" Marley complained folding her arms on her chest.

"Are you blind? Can't you see I can't walk right" I argued while limping towards her. She pursed her lips at this while her blue eyes narrowing in thought.

"How did this happen again?"

"I told you gym class."

"Ahh… Gym class…" she muttered with a dreamily expression on her face which kinda confused me and I was about to ask when I suddenly got it. Marley only gave that dopey smile whenever she talked about boys or boys she liked in particular. "Isn't Sam like so?"

"Unprofessional? Annoying? Yes he is very." I smiled sarcastically.

"No, I was gonna say hot… umm... I guess you don't like him so much." She frowned

"Don't like him is an understatement" I mumbled.

We had just come from school and glad that it was finally a weekend after a long week of school, Marley and I just decided to chill at the mall before I went over to Ryder's later for our sleepover. Her asking me to tag along basically was just her needing an opinion on how she looked in this dress, how she looked in that dress.

Honestly I didn't understand why my opinion mattered to her and when I didn't have one she just said 'how can you not comment, you're gay right? Aren't gay people supposed to be good in this?' which would always make me roll my eyes at her stereotyping gay people.

I remembered when I first told Marley I was on the other side of the fence; she was in complete utter shock. In fact she was so stunned that she dropped her snow cone on the floor as she stared at me with wide eyes. It was a year ago, in this same mall and both of us had just bought ice cones while I confessed to her.

She was a flurry of questions and claims of 'No way', refusing to believe what I just said. The funny part is when she said I don't look, talk, dress and even act gay and I was like 'Umm… I didn't know there was a certain way how gay people should act.' And basically ever since then, she looked at me differently, expecting me to be a certain way.

With Ryder though, it was a complete different story. I know he knows that I'm gay but we never talk about it. He doesn't avoid me in any way and he doesn't look at me differently from what I see, but we just never speak about the topic. Like for instance, he still tell me how much he finds this girl hot or talk about guy stuff but neither one of us brings my sexuality up in a conversation and I guess I'm thankful for that? I'm not even sure how'd he come to know about it or if he even really knows about it but I got a feeling he does but I'm glad he doesn't look at me differently.

Eventually Marley got tired of going in and out of the dressing room and thankfully she bought one dress since the saleslady was casting nasty looks at us every time we passed her way.

"Can we take a break?" I breathed, exhausted from all the walking around. Clearly Marley didn't take to heart when I said we'd walk slowly cause of my sprain.

"Fine" she said with an eye roll before we went and sat by the huge fountain at the center of the mall; It was one of those fountains where people threw in coins to make wishes. "I want to make a wish" Marley said.

"Then go ahead." I frowned confused why she had to tell me about it.

"Well, give me a quarter?" she opened her palm up to me.

"If it's my quarter, isn't the wish for me not you?"

"It doesn't work that way"

Rolling my eyes, I reached into my pocket and handed her a quarter. She smiled as she took it before closing her eyes and throwing the coin in the fountain.

"What did you wish for?" I asked.

"I can't tell you it won't come true." She said keeping her ear to ear grin. I didn't need to ask again to know what it was about.

Boyfriend.

I sighed. If only she knew about Ryder.

After some time of just talking by the fountain, Marley said she wanted to eat so she went and searched for a place to get some grub. I excused myself for a second to go to the arts n' crafts store cause I wanted to buy a new sketchpad, since my older one got ruined.

I was at the cashier being held up by a lady in her forties complaining about the clay she bought when I got Marley's text saying I should meet her up at McDonald's. Luckily enough the clay dilemma of the lady was resolved just in time and once I had paid for my stuff, I went on over to the designated place which was at the 3rd floor of the mall. How convenient Marley.

It was such a pain to limp my way from the ground floor up unto that level, just my luck that the elevator was under renovation too. Whoever made escalators, thank the Lord for their genius minds. I was at the second floor already going up, when I saw that Chris guy from gym class hand in hand with a blonde chick that looked familiar which I'm guessing was a student at Jackson cause I'm pretty sure I've seen her before. Thankfully though Chris didn't see me which meant I was saved from getting any public humiliation or bullying.

"What took you so long?" Marley frowned at me.

"Long story" I joined her at the table setting aside the stuff I bought. "Hey do you know Chris?"

"Chris Humphrey? He's from Biology right? Why you got a crush on him?" she accused abruptly pointing at me with a fry in hand.

"What?! Hell no!" I made a disgusted look at her assumption. "Is he dating someone?"

"I don't think so, are you sure you don't have a crush o-"

"YES! I'm pretty sure I'm not into Neanderthals like him" I cleared up, I could never see myself being with people like him or Sam. People who clearly only think about themselves and not others. Who are egotistical assholes who think they're better than everyone else just because they're jocks or on the football team.

After eating, we were supposed to go watch a movie but Marley got a text from her mom saying she had to babysit his brother since both of her parents were going out that night. She obviously was disappointed at this but I said it was cool and I'd just go back too so I could pack my stuff for Ryder's place for the weekend.

We bid our goodbyes to each other and I was on my way home when I suddenly remembered I forgot the stuff I bought from the crafts store at McDonald's. I had to go back all the way to the mall and thankfully when I got there, I was pleased to find that the manager kept it in their Lost and Found stuff and returned it to me.

On the way home, second time around, I was thinking about my foot, or ankle rather, wishing it would heal soon cause it was very disorienting walking around like this. I hate that I wasn't careful enough, maybe I should've just took that hit instead of trying to jump over it. I sighed, if it wasn't for that stupid class I wouldn't have gotten this sprain. Then inevitably thinking about this, soon brought about this Sam guy into my head.

It was obvious he was a good looking guy and if I met him under different circumstances, I would admit I might have had a crush on him like Marley said but given that how much of a jerk he was, all I saw was a douchebaggy jock who belittles anyone who isn't as popular as him.

"Mom I'm home." I called out once I stepped into the living room of my house.

"I'm over here sweetie" she answered back, her voice coming from the kitchen.

I kicked my shoes off and stepped into my fuzzy house slippers before going on over to where my mom was. She was whipping up something heating in the stove and when I entered, she turned and greeted me with a smile once but her smile faltered a little seeing was what in my hands.

"Did you buy a sketchpad again?" she frowned.

"Yea mom, I-" I started to say before she tsked me.

"What happened to the last one I bought you just last week?" she asked.

"I… Umm… I lost it in school" I lied. She studied me for a while before sighing.

"You got to take care of your stuff Blainey, that cost me dear, and money doesn't grow on trees."

"Well technically they do since money is made from paper and pap-"

"That's not what I meant dear." She shook her head and I couldn't help but smile.

"What are you cooking?" I stirred up a conversation while I went and rummaged the fridge.

"Cabbage stew" she said and I heard a sip I'm guessing her tasting her cooking. "But aren't you going over to Ryder's?"

"Yea I am mom… just grabbing a few stuff" I said as I took a couple Twix bars from the fridge and put them in my bag.

"How is he doing by the way? Martha said she got called in for a talk with your principal" She said carefully.

"Well you and Mrs. Lynn gossip like you're teenagers" I mused.

"Blainey!"

"What? I'm just saying" I shrugged and I headed for the living room but my mom stopped me.

"Hold up honey, you haven't told me about your date with Marley girl yet."

"It wasn't a date mom" I said frowning. "We just went to the mall to the hang out"

"Exactly, a date"

I sighed. "It was not a date but it was fun I guess?"

"So is she your girlfriend now or…?"

"Mom!" I whined. "Marley and I are just friends I told you."

"Yea but you're a teenager now Blaine, sooner or later you'll start to see girls differently, get all this new feelings for them" she said and I couldn't answer. This was a topic I never talked about with my mother for a reason.

"I know mom, I know…"

"All I want is for you to be safe okay" Good lord was she really talking about this now. "If you get this sudden feelings just remember to use prot-"

"Oh my god, don't say that word!" I said covering my ears and retreating into my room.

"Just be careful honey! You don't want to be daddy yet do you?" she called out after me. I didn't bother answering cause what she didn't know is even if I did fall for someone, it would most likely be with someone I could never knock up. She would never know cause she didn't know that I was gay.


	4. Rough Sketch 4: Facebook Friendly

**A/N: **So sorry for taking like forever to write this as I have said it's really hard to balance my time especially since I'm in college already. So anyways here's the chapter and I wont make any promises but I'll still try to update regularly. In the meantime it would be nice if you guys could go check out my other fic B-Romance(Blichael). If you like my writing you'll love this story. Sorry once again and here you guys go.

Ding Dong!

I stood there waiting by the doorstep of the Lynn's humble abode. With my stuff all in my backpack, I was ready for the weekend with my best friend. Ryder's house was just a block away from my place so I just made my way by foot. A full minute passed and no response.

As I passed a quick glance at my watch, I saw it was 6: 15pm and wondered if maybe Ryder had fallen asleep or something. I pressed the doorbell once more and after waiting a bit and still getting nothing, I started to get suspicious.

That was odd, wasn't anyone home? I walked on over to the garage and peered through the stained glass window. No car. Ryder's parents had already left then. It would be pretty weird if they left the house without making sure their son was home so I stuck to my first theory: Ryder must've fallen asleep.

Well then I guess I had to break in.

I went back to the house and circled the area, looking if there were any open windows or in case they left the backdoor open. The latter one just made my day seeing as the door through the kitchen was unlocked.

Welcoming myself in, I walked silently in the dark of their kitchen. All lights were out and I kinda felt like I was a robber raiding the Lynn's residence as I continued walking, unwelcomed in their territory.

"Ryder? Mrs. Lynn…? Is anyone home?" I called putting my hand against my face to project my voice louder. The response I got a few seconds later wasn't what I was expecting. I heard the scampering of footsteps and a couple barks before I felt a force jump on me from nowhere.

"Oof…!" I lost balance as Ryder's German shepherd, Harvey, tackled me down to the kitchen floor. The excited pup licked my face a couple times making me flinch a little as it barked playfully at me.

Just then I heard the sound of the front door being unlocked and I froze for a second unsure what to do. Harvey immediately ran off into the unlit living room and started barking and my mind was racking through the possibilities of who was at the door. It was only when I heard a voice speak up and the lights went on that I relaxed.

Ryder.

I went in the direction the canine went and saw Ryder, all sweaty by the doorway petting his pooch. As I cleared my throat up, it was obvious he was unaware of my presence in his own house.

"Oh Blaine! Didn't know you were here already" Ryder said as he looked up at me with a smile. His chestnut brown hair was all tousled up and his grey shirt was drenched in clear sweat stains. He had his bag near him and I wondered if he just came from school.

"Yea… I thought you had fallen asleep or something so I welcomed myself in." I explained.

"Sorry 'bout that… I just came from the gym"

"Oh" That would explain why he looked like a mess.

"I'm really sorry… umm… let me just go hop in the shower real quick then we can go play Marvel Vs Capcom okay?" he stood up and went up the stairs and my eyes just followed his tall figure pace through the room. "Why don't you come up and take your stuff to my room and you can wait there" he called out from upstairs before I heard a door slam and guess he got in the bathroom already.

Ryder's room was like any other teenage boy's room. Well not really since my room wasn't this messy. There were some worn clothes piling up on the floor here and there. Posters of all sorts from his favorite band, Simple Plan, to the different gaming posters he got from the different magazines which were all unusually stacked up neatly in a rack next to his computer. A TV of course which served as the display unit for Ryder's X-box and this huge mahogany wardrobe which he barely used since most of the clothes he wore all came straight from the mountainous pile.

I thought it was really adorable that a sixteen year old boy like Ryder would have sheets of his favorite superhero team the Avengers. A small smile crossed my lips as I patted the bed, before settling down on it. I took the alone time as an opportunity to work on something I thought of earlier while I hung out with Marley.

Bringing my newly bought sketchpad out, I brought out my blueish silver pencil from the small pouch I keep in my bag and started drawing the guidelines for this particular picture I had in mind. Earlier when me and Marley were in the mall chilling by the fountain, I saw this lady who was in her late 20s I'm guessing who was holding one of those little dogs you can put in handbags. I guess you can say she and her little companion inspired me to work on a little something.

I rarely drew women so I wasn't used to how their figures were, especially around the breast department. The scene I was trying to replicate but in my own version was the girl sitting by a bench holding her dog up to her face as she pressed her nose against her little pet. I managed to get the outlines done in a matter of seconds without too much erasures, and on it was to details.

I had this habit that when I drew stuff; I liked to rotate the canvas in different angles to get the right shapes. Getting too engrossed in my work, I hadn't notice Ryder was already in the room until he spoke up.

"New pad?" he asked.

"Yea I just bought it earlier in th-…" I paused to look up at Ryder and he was only in a towel, his hair the same damp look but this time it was from the shower not sweat. My breathe caught a little and I had to quickly recompose myself before it became any awkward "…mall"

He gave me a lopsided smile before going through his pile of clothes on the floor trying to find something to wear. He had his back to me so it allowed me a clear view of his bare ass as he dropped the towel. The hardest thing about being friends with Ryder is probably the fact that I was gay. I had been best friends with him for as long as I could remember and growing up I never looked at him in such a way cause I didn't know any better.

But now that I was more mature and aware of such things, I couldn't help but sometimes catch myself staring at his body. I knew it was wrong cause he was my best friend and if I made one slip up, I could ruin our friendship possibly forever. It didn't help that Ryder was so… oblivious… to me being gay; like he would change in front of me without feeling conscious about it. Well he didn't need to be cause if I had a physique like him, I probably would flaunt it too.

The brief show of Ryder's naked back was over as soon as he put on some clothes. I just quietly resumed on my sketch but the image he had left was still strong in my mind making it hard for me to concentrate. With a sigh, I closed the pad and put it together with the pencil away and just decided to continue some other time.

"So you want to play now or you wanna grab something to eat first?" Ryder asked me jumping on his bed and scooting closer to me.

"I'm not really hungry" I said reaching into my bag to grab a Snickers bar. "Here" I tossed it over to him and he grinned widely.

"Thanks" he said before hastily unwrapping the treat.

"I don't really feel like playing, why don't we just watch a movie instead?"

"Okay sure" he answered with a mouthful of the candy bar.

The movie we decided to watch was The Dictator and I was already watching while Ryder made a quick trip downstairs to grab some chips. When he had come back he joined me in his bed and leaned back before producing his phone out and paid more attention to it than the movie.

I frowned a little but didn't bother chastising him since it was his loss. It was really hard for the generation now to just sit down and watch something on TV. It was always multitasking with their phones, laptops, tablets out and I honestly think it was silly since you barely pay attention to watching

Most of the hilarious scenes he didn't know what was going and just simply faked laugh with me. Around some time during the end of movie, I couldn't help but laugh as 'Aladin' was trying to cross over to the other building while traversing on a zip line.

I made a quick glance at Ryder to see if he was watching but the boy was fast asleep with his phone on top of his chest. I sighed and lowered the volume of the movie and just finished it by myself. After it was over I helped adjust Ryder's position so that he was lying in a comfortable position in his bed.

He didn't even set up where I was going to sleep.

I pulled out my sleeping bag from my pack and set in out on the floor next to Ryder's bed. As I was doing so, I noticed Ryder's phone buzz every now and then for a notification and curiosity getting the better of me, I checked to see who he was talking to.

As I checked his phone there was a notification from his Facebook account and I opened it to see that someone had posted on Ryder's wall. I wasn't a person who typically went and snooped in other people's business but I couldn't help myself and clicked on it. My face blanked of any emotion as I saw it. It was just one of those viral funny videos from Youtube but what got me was the post.

It read 'Hey dude this is the one I was talking bout. :)' .

But what got me is that I didn't notice it at first but the person who posted it was Sam Evans, the 'new' gym teacher and I didn't know how to react or feel at that moment. Sam and Ryder were friends?


	5. Rough Sketch 5: If It Fits

**A/N: **sorry for taking longer than expected, I had this finished earlier but I just forgot to post this. Sorry. Here you guys go.

"Ah crap! Not again!"

His loud voice was enough to bring me out of my hazy state. My mind soon processed the sounds of my environment and it only took a while to realize what was going on. Sitting upright, my feet still stuffed in my sleeping bag, my eyes adjusted to my surroundings and I found out the reason why Ryder had just yelled.

"Don't you think it's a little too early to be playing?" I yawned, my voice still groggy from my sleep. Ryder however just had his eyes glue to the TV as he played with his tongue sticking out at the side of his mouth. He had a habit of doing so when he concentrated, well he said I did do the same whenever I would draw and we just had a laugh about it. A heavy sigh came from him as the game announced his defeat and he dropped the controller, leaning back against my feet.

"I don't think I can make it past that boss… my party's overall skill level isn't high enough" he frowned with an obvious disappointment.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you will eventually…" I reassured him although honestly I had no clue what he was talking about. Another yawn escaped my lips and he only just realized he had awoken me by the rampant uproar he was causing.

"Sorry I was too loud just now" he bit his lip sheepishly like a little boy and I couldn't help but smile, reassuring him it was indeed okay.

Not soon after I woke up we got downstairs to have our breakfast. As always Ryder finished his plate of two toasts and eggs hastily while I quietly nibbled on my cereal bar, continuing the sketch I started on yesterday. After I had the watched movie, I decided to work on it a bit more before bed and I was now adding the littlest details finishing up the piece.

"That's nice" Ryder commented whilst he swung his legs back and forth sitting on the counter behind my chair. Brushing off the eraser shavings that piled up on my pad, I peeked behind me to see what exactly he was doing and I wasn't surprised to see Ryder on his phone again.

Wasn't sure if he was playing or texting, I suddenly got reminded of last night when I had checked in on his phone. There was this urge in me to ask him about it, about how Sam and him being friends and I was unaware of it but then why did I care at all?

Just because of that gym class the other day, I couldn't seem to get him out of my mind. Or maybe it's because I keep getting reminded of him?

Preposterous.

I opened my mouth as if to ask but cowered at the last second as I turned back to my pad. As I looked at the paper of my canvas though, all I could see were images in my head of Ryder hanging out with Sam. Did they talk about me? I mean… Ryder must've mentioned my name once or twice. Then again why would he bring me up in a conversation with school royalty, Sam Evans? Would he have mentioned something about the whole gym incident? Why would they even talk about a nobody like me in the first place right?

No.

That's stupid Blaine, Ryder wouldn't do that now would he?

With so many questions I thought I had to just ask in the case my own curious mind tortured me for the rest of the day.

"So…" I didn't know exactly how to start without it being any awkward and I just went with what in my opinion was the least awkward question. "How was it…?"

"How was what..?"

"You said you went to the gym yesterday right… umm… how was it?" I continued as I turned to him.

"Oh…" he gave me a half smile before hopping of the counter. I never really knew what people did in the gym, aside from the weightlifting part since that was self explanatory, I had no clue what those other machines did however so I didn't have an idea what Ryder usually did in the gym.

"It was okay… I guess… you have to come with me some time" he said sitting at the chair in front of me.

"No thanks"

"Oh come on Blaine"

"I'm not out of shape or anything am I?"

"Yea well it wouldn't hurt to grow a little muscle now would it?" Ryder said with a sly smile rolling up one of his sleeve to his shoulder and flexing his arm. His bicep which was clearly visible, strained as he flexed it and I quickly looked away with a slight pout.

"Uhh… you didn't answer my question." I pointed out still averting my gaze from him. With a soft chuckle he rolled his sleeve back down.

"I already did but if you want me to be specific… I worked on my chest and triceps again and also did a little bit of shoulder work outs." Ryder rotated his arm as he massaged his own shoulder. A glint his eyes sparked as if he remembered something important as he gave me a smile. "I also ran into Sam in the gym"

"Sam Evans?" I asked bleakly and he nodded with a huge grin "Oh…"

"He's a really cool dude and I think it's great he's subbing for Coach Cooperman, I mean he actually lets the class spend half the hour doing whatever they want." Ryder said in a tone like Sam was a brilliant discoverer or something.

"Exactly why he's so unprofessional at what he does. Come on who does that?" I argued but Ryder just frowned at this. I didn't like that Ryder thought so fondly of this Sam guy and honestly I was a little jealous as he continued on what he and Sam talked about in the gym: Guy stuff.

Eventually the whole Sam thing was forgotten when a few hours later me and Ryder ran a quick errand going down to the mall. It was kind of ironic how yesterday I was already at this place with Marley, and now with Ryder. I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow I'm here with both of them. This mall was the one of the hotspots in town and it wasn't uncommon for people, especially teenagers to chill around this place cause of the number of stuff you could do here.

Mrs. Lynn had entrusted Ryder with grocery duty and he begged me to come with him since he wasn't so fond of doing some shopping. I agreed for only I didn't want to be left behind alone in his house with Harvey since he basically had a habit of jumping on me which I didn't like so much.

My foot was getting better and I could walk almost fine, slower, but better than yesterday. There were a number of items in the list and we also brought along a pair of shoes which by Mrs. Lynn's order, we were to return since they were the wrong size. When we were half-done with the list, I told Ryder I would do the shoe returning and just meet him up at the cashier and he agreed asking me to also buy him a bag of gummy worms as I would be passing the candy shop.

As I got to Lloyd's Footwear, there was no one handling the counter. The place had the same color scheme as the outside, having peach colored walls were tons of shoes were on display. I roamed around to see if anyone else was here and as I cut to the corner of the store, I saw one of the employees helping an old woman fit her shoe. The old lady gave me a smile and she tapped on the employee's shoulder as she pointed at me.

I was completely taken by surprise as the guy turned to me.

It was Sam.

Obviously I recognized him first than he did since he told me to give him a second and he'd be with me soon. He continued assisting the old lady and when she was done, it was then he gave me his full attention.

"How can I help… wait a minute… I know you." He said as recognition finally lit up in his eyes.

"You work here?" I asked an obviously stupid question since his name tag and shirt that had a Lloyd's logo pretty much answered my question.

"Yes I do" he still answered giving me a smile. I'm not sure if it was one of those fake employee smiles of salespersons but it seemed really genuine. "How can I help you… Blaine right?"

"I just came to return these, not mine…" I handed over the box to him and he opened it to check the content.

"Hmmm… what's wrong with them?" Sam asked as he eyed the black stilettos.

"They're too small… the lady who bought those pair is a size 9, those are just 8" I said, telling him what Ryder told me to say.

"Hmmm… okay hold on." Sam disappeared into the backdoor of the counter and moments later he came out with a few boxes stacked up in his hands. "What size of shoes are you wearing?"

"They're not for me" I said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"I know just tell me what shoe size you're wearing."

"10… I'm 9 ½" I said still not sure why he had to ask. He walked on over to one of the store benches where you tried shoes on and dropped the boxes gently to the floor. He gestured for me to come closer and I just did without a clue what was going on.

"Try this on" he said as he pulled out a black high heel the same as the one I just returned.

"Are you out of your mind? Why would I try that?" I asked as I gave him an incredulous look. He however, wasn't fazed by the glare I gave him and just neatly brushed a strand of his blonde hair that fell on his face as he got on his knees.

"Come on if it fit it'll surely fit a 9" Sam said with a smile. With a huge sigh I sank down on the bench and took my shoes and socks off. I couldn't argue with that logic. He held my bare foot in his hand and helped me put it on as if I didn't know how and when it was completely on me he looked up at me.

"Well?" he asked, his bluish green eyes shining under the fluorescence of the store. We had tried several shoes already and we were on the fourth try now.

"Well what?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really…"

"Perfect then"

He took the shoe off me delicately and when I was about to put my own shoes back on, I was astonished he did it for me.

"I can do that you know" I said coldly

"I know… I'm just doing my job." He said with a grin. What was up with this guy? I mean seriously in school he was a huge d-bag now he was acting all nice and what not. Maybe he was being nice cause it was part of his job.

Nevertheless, he wrapped up the shoe that fit me 'perfectly' and handed over to me.

"Thanks…" I muttered, as I took the box in my hands.

"You're welcome." He took the rest of the boxes of shoes and headed for the backdoor again. I was about to leave the shop when I heard the boxes get knocked down and as I turned to look, Sam had dropped the boxes while trying to open the door. Without thinking it, I had went over and help him stuff the shoes back into their boxes before he piled them up again.

"You didn't need to help me you know." He said

"I know… I wanted to." I admitted. I left when I was sure he didn't need any more help and I made my way back to Ryder with the new pair of shoes and bag of gummy worms in hand. All I was thinking to myself then was, maybe Ryder was right about Sam? But then why did I have a sprain right now?


	6. Rough Sketch 6: Friends and Foes

A/N: "Finally bitch you fucking updated"

I'm really sorry this took so loooong but I've been busy and for those of you who still read this here you guys go and I'll try to post as often like maybe twice in a week. Sorry sorry sorry sorry anyways here you guys go.

"I don't understand why you want me to come along…"

"Cause it'll be fun! Everyone who's anyone is coming"

For the third time in a row, Mrs. Fiddle the librarian hushed us casting a nasty glare in our direction. Giving her another apologetic smile, I went on to put my stuff back in my bag whilst Marley rolled her eyes giving me an exasperated sigh. She has been begging me all morning to come with her to this party tonight and I simply had told her no for reasons, one of which was because it was a school day.

I started to leave then and Marley lagged behind me, in a hurry to pack all her stuff up. Even as we exited the library, she kept on droning me on and on about 'Justin's party' and saying how 'fun' it'll be but honestly I had a hunch it was just her intentions of getting closer to this Justin guy the reason why she kept egging me to just be with her.

"Aren't any of your other friends coming?" I asked, pausing to turn to her outside our Economics room.

"Well, Tina's going but she's taking her boyfriend so…" she looked down.

"So you just want me to come along so you don't have to be by yourself?" I asked and she nodded. With a ring of the bell and a sigh, I told her I'll think about it and she skipped to her next class all cheery as if I already answered a yes.

I made my way to my usual seat by the back end row and I was surprised to see Ryder already sitting there with his head hung low. His brown hair looked messy and he seemed sleep deprived, which he was since he was yawning and dozing on and off.

"Hey Ryder" I said as I slipped into my desk. "You okay…?"

Ryder shifted into a better position in his chair, shaking his head as if to shake off some sleep and smiled at me weakly. "Yea…" he said with a yawn and I was about to ask why he was worn out but just then Mr. Bailey our economics teacher came in, pushing all thoughts away for the moment as our class began.

As usual, class went on for like forever, Mr. Bailey's monotone voice making it less interesting than it already was. I wasn't surprised to see Ryder sleeping halfway the period. When it was about five minutes to the end though, a loud crashing noise from the hallways interrupted Mr. Bailey's discussion and half the class who were slowly falling into a stupor perked up as a booming laughter. The stout white haired teacher pushed up his glasses which were slipping off his face and tsked. We watched as he waddled his way to the door to look for the student whose echoing laughter disrupted the class.

"Detention Puckerman!" he yelled out after someone. "You too Humphrey!" the whole class was silent but attentive as Mr. Bailey grumbled his way back to the front. He was about to continue from where he had paused but the bell had now rang which meant it was now lunch break. The old teacher sighed and reminded everyone about the homework but his words fell on deaf ears as the entire class was up and some leaving already, their thoughts obviously elsewhere. I know mine was.

Me and Ryder sat at our usual table except it was just us two this time, No Marley.

If there's one thing Ryder looked forward to in school, it was probably lunch period. I did too cause that was a whole hour you could do anything; eat like everyone else does, chill, hang out in the library, or in my case… maybe even drawing.

Ryder busily ate his cheese-filled bagel while I randomly browsed the internet on my phone, trying to find something to inspire me maybe for my next sketch. I was going through my news feed on Facebook when I saw a status update from someone saying 'is feeling sleepy'. I then got reminded of Ryder earlier before class and my curiosity getting the better of me, I just had to ask.

"Hey dude…" I said looking up from my phone.

"Yea?" Ryder asked, instinctually wiping his mouth as if I were going to say he had something on his face.

"Earlier during Mr. Bailey's class, you seemed pretty drowsy…"

"Oh… yea… about that… I didn't get much sleep last night…" he explained.

"Why not?" I arched an eyebrow at him questioningly as I took a sip from my canned orange juice.

"Sam kept me up all night" he blurted out and I almost choked, spewing orange juice in the air, thankfully not in his face. A few people stared at my whole fiasco, some even muttering 'gross' but my eyes were wide staring at Ryder.

"Up all night with Sam? Sam Evans?"

"Yea… we were playing…Halo… is there something wrong…?" Ryder frowned and I shook my head. He looked at me for a second before going on his story about how he and Sam spent the entire night playing with the help of the online multiplayer function. I wasn't able to understand everything he said but I just nodded along, occasionally saying a 'really?' and 'wow' every now and then.

Ryder just went on and on saying how fun it was and I honestly didn't know what to say since, one, I'm still a bit unhappy he and Sam were friends and two, I had no idea what he was talking about. As if to save me, Marley joined our table looking rather flushed and apologized for being late saying she had some stuff to attend to. Just like that Ryder clammed up as Marley took a seat next to him and he played with his fingers uncomfortably.

"What were you guys talking about?" She asked as she unwrapped a granola bar rather hastily, taking a small bite out of it.

"Oh nothing, Ryder was just explaining about this…" I was about to say the topic we or rather Ryder just discussed but he gave me a meaningful look slightly shaking his head and I caught myself at the last moment. "new thingy… that he uses to workout at the gym… right man?"

"Yup… it's awesome… it's like two machines in one… it lets you work on your biceps and legs at the same time" Ryder said with a smile and Marley looked skeptical for a second before brushing it off with a shrug.

"So Blaine… about tonight" Marley began grinning at me, pointing her granola bar at my direction.

"What's tonight?" Ryder asked and I frowned at Marley.

"I said I'll think about it."

"Think about what?" Ryder interjected again.

"Come on pleeeease? It'll be fun" Marley pleaded with a pout.

"What'll be fun?!" Ryder tried again this time sounding a little annoyed he was not part of the conversation. I was going to tell Ryder about the whole party being held at Justin Acre's house but something in the distance caught my eye.

"Who's that guy?" I asked, watching a brown haired kid wearing glasses who was in a wheelchair.

"Oh, him? I think his name is Artie, he just transferred." Marley said. I expected her to say more like maybe why'd he transfer or something but she didn't seem too keen on saying anything else.

Artie was fumbling to reach for a lunch tray from the counter which was beyond his reach. He was clearly having a difficult time doing so and before he could've made a mess by knocking down the stack of lunch trays, I made my way to him, crossing the distance from our far end table to the counter.

"Hey there, need some help?" I said, picking up a tray and handing it over to him.

"Thanks" he smiled at me. Artie set the tray on his lap before he started rolling his way down the cafeteria line to get his food, I walked by his side. "My name's Artie… I'm new here… "

"Uh… Of course, I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson."

"Nice to meet you Blaine… I thought all people here kept to themselves." He mused. "The chicken fritter please"

"Oh… yea… most of them do."

"I know, I was going to ask a girl earlier where room 406 was and she walked away muttering I was a creep." Artie said with a chuckle. "Thank you" he said as I set the plate of mashed potatoes carefully unto his tray.

"What year are you at?" I asked.

"Freshman, you?"

"A sophomore"

"Hmmm… I see.."

"Do you wanna sit with us?" I asked after he finished collecting all his food.

"Are you sure it's okay?" he asked warily.

"It's completely fine." I assured him, pushing his wheelchair towards our table. Ryder and Marley seemed to be in a middle of a disagreement when I returned with Artie.

"Guys this is Artie…" I said even though Marley already knew who he was. "Artie, this is Ryder and Marley" I gestured towards the two.

"Nice to meet you guys" Artie bowed his head slightly. Ryder smiled and said "hey there" while Marley just nodded more busy with her phone. Returning back to my seat, I asked them what they were arguing about before I had come back. Ryder was upset because Marley didn't tell him what she and I were talking about and I didn't know why she kept it from him but I had no such intentions.

"She's talking about this party Justin is throwing later tonight" I explained but Marley gave me a harsh look.

"A party?" Ryder repeated.

"Yes. A party" Marley hissed.

"Are you guys going?" Ryder asked.

"No."I said but Marley said "Yes" at the same time.

"Oh come on Blaine, you promised me earlier you'd come with me! I don't wanna go by myself…"

"What's wrong with going by yourself?" Ryder asked.

"I'll look pathetic" She said in an exasperated sigh.

"Take Ryder with you." I shrugged.

"What? But I asked you" Marley objected.

"Well I don't feel like going… Ryder wouldn't mind going with you, isn't that right man?" I asked turning to Ryder with a smile. He was blushing and stuttered over his next words which were. "Y-yea I guess…"

"There you go… you and Ryder could go together"

Marley clearly was not happy with the idea but I guess she found it was better than if she were going alone so with that, she glared at me once more and told Ryder to pick her up at six before she left us grumbling about my refusal.

"What was that all about?" Artie asked as he ate silently the whole time.

"Oh nothing… Ryder here just got a date." I grinned.

Ryder bit his lip and looked kinda embarrassed, his ears turning pink but I knew he was excited and maybe even thankful I got him on a date with his crush. And suddenly it was like he remembered something important as his features lit up instantly.

"Blaine… umm… my mum got mad…" he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well… the shoes she asked to return them cause they were too big but you got an even bigger pair…" he explained and I was dumbfounded for a second not getting what he was talking about.

"What do you me-" and then it hit me. The pair of shoes I had gotten last week for Mrs. Lynn. "I don't understand… Sam said…"

"Sam?" Ryder asked like he heard me wrong.

"Yea Sam worked at the shoe store and said if it fit me who's a size 9 it'll fit her." I tried to explain but even me saying it sounded ludicrous.

"Umm… you do know a size 9 for a lady and a guy is different right?" Artie asked me and I felt dumb cause I had no idea.

"No…" I admitted. "I'm sorry man… I… I'll return it again if that's okay?"

"No she already did… I got the blame for it though" Ryder said making me feel worse. I felt horrible for getting Ryder scolded because of my cluelessness.

"Sorry…" was all I could say.

"It's okay dude…" he reassured me but then he smiled as he shift into a more light topic. "Hey did you know the new champ for LOL has just been revealed?"

"Really now?" I returned his smile with a thoughtful expression. LOL or League of Legends was this online game Ryder (and sometimes I) play.

"You guys play League of Legends too?" Artie asked and it was Ryder who answered enthusiastically.

"You bet" he gave Artie a cheeky grin and it didn't take long before the two of them started talking about the game as if they've been friends forever. Ryder went on bragging how he would always carry his team to victory and how much he hated having lousy teammates and it was all just somewhat enjoying to watch the duo fuss over about a simple topic like online gaming.

After lunch me and Ryder had different classes. Artie's class was the room next to mine. I offered to push his wheelchair to the classroom but he said it was okay and just rolled himself alongside me.

"So why did you transfer here to Jackson? I mean if you don't mind me asking"

"Well…" he stopped rolling to look up at me. "My parents just divorced…" he admitted bluntly and immediately I felt bad for asking.

"I'm so sorry I…"

"No it's okay... I moved here into town with my mom and she said she wanted to start out fresh so long story… here I am." He said with a smile and I wanted to ask how'd he get in a wheelchair but I felt that was overstepping some boundaries. I'm really bad at holding conversations since I was somewhat of an introvert and I didn't really have any other friends aside from Ryder and Marley.

"Well… here's my class… that's your room by the way" I said as I pointed to the room adjacent from where I was standing.

"Thanks a lot Blaine"

"You're welcome… but thanks for what?"

"For being friendly" he said before rolling his way into the classroom. I was being friendly? I didn't know I was or at least I didn't think I was… I was just being nice since I know how awful people could be especially around here. Allowing myself to stay there a bit more, I eventually turned into my own class where I was greeted by an unhappy Mrs. Carlton.

"You're late Anderson" she tsked and I checked my watch to see I was only five minutes late so I brushed it off without saying a word headed for my usual place by the window. Since this was Biology and I didn't have anyone who I was friends with in this class, me entering the room was treated like nothing big. No hi's or hello's; just a few

Once I had settled in my desk, Mrs. Carlton gave a disapproving look and she just stared at me like that for a while that it bugged me.

"What?" I asked. I was never the type of person who would get pissed with teachers since they're usually people with authority and they are the one who would give you your grades at the end of the school year but Mrs. Carlton always picked on me for god knows what reason. She wasn't really the nicest teacher and she barely even smiled.

She usually reprimanded the whole class but singling me out got me in a certain way that I felt a bit annoyed.

"I said go into your groups since we would be doing an experiment Mr. Anderson!"

"Geez no need to yell… I don't even have a stupid group…" I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that?!"

"I said I don't even know what group I am" I answered cooly but with clenched fists trying my best not to raise my voice since she was getting on my nerves.

"Maybe if you didn't come late you would've been grouped properly." She said dismissively before turning away to check on the other students.

Unbelievable. I never thought I'd dislike her this much but apparently someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

"Hey… over here" a blonde girl who was a few rows from my where I sat called out. "You can be my lab partner" she said. Since I didn't really have any other options, I went on over to and settled next to her.

"My name's Kitty by the way" she said. "I know we've been classmates for a while now but we never really talked."

"I'm Blaine…" I said with a sigh.

"Can you believe how bitchy she is?" she asked me in a whisper.

"I know right?" I rolled my eyes and she giggled.

Kitty and I finished our work, which was labeling stages of cell division observed through microscopes rather early and we spent the rest of the period just talking with one another. When the bell rang, I was about to head for the exit but Mrs. Carlton had stopped me.

"I still hadn't gotten your report Mr. Anderson which by the way is due today" she said disapprovingly.

"What? But I gave it already the other day" I said. Whenever we got homework, I had a habit of finishing it early so I had nothing to worry about anymore. I swore I already had submitted this one and thinking she just misplaced it or something I told her this.

"Are you taking me for a fool Mr. Anderson? You are the only one who had failed to pass your report"

"BUT I ALREADY DID!" I yelled and everyone else in the room stopped to stare at us. I hadn't intended to raise my voice but her saying I failed to do something I'm sure I did just did it for me. It was inevitable that Mrs. Carlton didn't approve of me raising my voice on her and she gave me detention for talking back to a teacher.

And with that the rest of the day just felt like a drag. I still had one more class to attend to before school was over but even then it's not like I could leave the school's vicinity since I'd have to do some after school time.

With the ring of the bell for the last class, I sighed heavily and watched as the hall filled up with students all pushing and making their way to the exit as school had officially ended. A few passersby girls were talking excitedly about the party that Justin, one of the richest guys in school, would be throwing and for a second I wished I'd agree to go with Marley wishing for a fun night but then again I don't think I would be enjoying standing awkwardly in a room full of half drunk people grinding on each other's bodies as they 'danced' to the heart thumping loud bass playing in the background.

Arriving at the room which I'm told would be where my detention would be held, I came to see no one but an empty classroom. Assuming it's the wrong place, I turned to see if indeed it was but the room said 412, the same room I'm told.

Anyways I went and sat in one of the chairs and about five minutes later, a familiar face showed up.

"Oh… what are you doing here?" Sam Evans asked as he entered the room. He had this tight white collared shirt similar to what Coach Cooperman usually wore except he didn't wear shorts like he did but rather a pair of skinny jeans. His lengthy blonde hair was swooped back today and it looked damp as if he just came from a shower or something. The first thing that caught my attention though was his arms which seemed too big for the small armhole the shirt provided. I thought he looked rather umm… fit?

"Uhh… Detention?" I said trying not to look at him directly.

"Why? What are you in for?" he asked with an amused expression as he sat on the teacher's desk, leaning back.

"Does it matter? The point is I'm already here." I don't mean to sound like a jerk but I just wasn't in a mood and Sam just caught me in a bad day.

"I guess…" he shrugged to himself.

A few silent seconds passed before two more people entered the room and immediately I recognized them both. One of them was that Jake Puckerman kid who had ruined my sketchpad by pouring milk all over it, the other was that Chris Humphrey, the guy who had caused me a sprain in gym class.

"Whoa nice… Mr. Evans is doing detention time" Jake said and he offered his hand to high five Sam.

"Alright Alright… you guys take your seats" Sam said with a chuckle and I wasn't surprised that the entire time, the three of them talked amongst themselves like it were more of 3 guys hanging out together than detention. I was completely invisible to them or at least I thought so as I watched them talk about such nonsensical stuff like: 'Did you see her boobs?' and 'I banged her last night'

Often I would catch Sam looking at me as I stared at the trio and his bluish green eyes would hold my glance for only a second or two before he averted them back to the other two, laughing and chatting with them.

It was so boring and their conversations could only interest me for quite some time before eventually I tuned their voices out and just leaned my head against my arms on the desk. I hadn't realized I had dozed off and I could unconsciously still hear their voices in the background. But then I drowned into nothingness.

Then a loud banging noise snapped me back awake. The whole scenery had changed. The three of them were nowhere in sight and the lights were shut. I guess they didn't bother waking me up and just left me by myself in the room. I anxiously checked my watch and saw it had only been half of an hour since detention had started so I went and over to the door thinking they just ended early.

I reached for the knob and turned it but it didn't move.

Immediately panicking, I tried opening the door but it just wouldn't budge. It was clearly locked. "Hey! I'm still here!" I tried calling out, hoping someone was there. Nothing, no one answered. My stomach started twisting in an uncomfortable way. No way I was locked in at the school.

"Is anyone there?! HELLO! I'm still here!" I yelled but my plea fell on dead air since no one really responded.

I was starting to worry about staying locked in school until someone shows up which who knew when. Maybe my parents will start looking for me, I should text them. Just when I checked my phone though, it was dead… great luck. What was I going to do?

I start banging hopelessly against the door calling for help and attention and when I was about to lose hope it suddenly opened. It was Sam.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"I don't know, where were you?!" I demanded.

"I just went to the bathroom…" he said and suddenly I noticed the two other guys standing outside the doorway.

Suddenly it all made sense… they pulled a prank on me.

I felt so embarrassed, furious and so full of it that I grabbed my bag from my desk and walked past Sam. I didn't wanna be there anymore. They humiliated me for their fun.

"Hey detention's not over" Sam said but it didn't matter if I got more days for leaving early, I just didn't want to be there cause if I stayed a little longer, I swore they might've seen me cry.


	7. Notice

So for starters this is not a new chapter, this is just to tell you guys, my readers, that tomorrow is my last day of school. not that you guys should care so much but this means I can write more for the semmestral break I have and I can update both Draw My Heart and B-Romance more often. Already have a few chapters in queue for the two and this is just to let you guys know I didnt die and I will continue writing.

3 -just an author's note, lxkirby


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